Lenses with Benefits – Life Changing Innovation in Lens Tech

I’m just back from Vision Expo West, and my brain is on fire. I was introduced to lens innovations that manipulate light to produce benefits beyond the correction of ametropia.

Andy Schmeder, COO and CTO of Enchroma refers to his company’s lenses as “quality of life” lenses. I experienced an amazing demonstration of these transformative lenses that allow the color blind protanope and deuteranope to see full color. Imagine that you’re red/green color blind. When you look at a red object, it appears to be brown, just to call out one color distortion experienced by a protanope. Now imagine that you put on a pair of lenses that allow you to see full color. Adults as well as children are reduced to tears by this experience. And Enchroma also produces lenses for these same individuals to relieve a type of digital eyestrain unique to their condition. To learn more, visit enchroma.com.

I also discovered lenses by neurolenses that alleviate trigeminal stress. Trigeminal stress is related to eye fatigue, neck pain and headache associated with digital device use and extensive near work in a binocularly imbalanced visual system. The neurolenses measurement device calculates the contoured prism correction needed in the patient’s Rx lenses to relieve trigeminal stress. This link between optometry and neurology is groundbreaking. To learn more visit www.neurolenses.com.

Another breakthrough progressive lens technology that I learned about at VEW is the inMotion lens by IOT, a progressive lens that is optimized for night driving. It is a unique driving lens that incorporates a zone to compensate “night myopia.” Night myopia is not related to the refractive error myopia, it is a condition that occurs for a large percentage of the population when driving at night and results in eyestrain and visual fatigue. inMotion lenses are designed to reduce this eyestrain and visual fatigue common to night driving. inMotion is fully personalized utilizing IOT’s proprietary Digital Ray-Path technology (www.iot.es).

As opticians, we are the lens pros, and staying abreast of the latest advancements in lens designs is paramount to the best patient care.

Current Issue

March 2019

Related Education Topics

As Eye Care Practitioners (ECPs), we find ourselves in the position of “fixing” vision problems after they’ve been diagnosed. Glasses, contact lenses, vision therapy and more come out of our toolbox to help those who can no longer see clearly. But, with a nod to an old saying, what can we do to fix it before it’s broke?

Come and lend your enthusiasm to this year's fun and friendly NFOS College Bowl competition. Show your support and cheer for the student contestants representing their Opticianry School. Twelve students from NFOS member Opticianry schools compete in this rapid-fire quiz competition.